Eikoh Hosoe (b. 1933, Yonezawa, Yamagata) began his career in photography after graduating from the Tokyo College of Photography in 1954, working as a freelance photographer for photography and women’s magazines. During this time, Hosoe began associating with other young, avant-garde photographers of the era, such as Kikuji Kawada, Shomei Tomatsu, and Ikko Narahara, eventually cofounding the “Vivo” collective. Hosoe was an avid collaborator, founding the multi-disciplinary Jazz Film Laboratory, as well as working with other creatives such as dancer Tatsumi Hijikata and writer Yukio Mishima. These collaborations led to some of his most celebrated series of photographs.
Hosoe is widely regarded as one of the most influential post-War Japanese photographers. He has received numerous awards, the Royal Photographic Society's 150th anniversary special medal, for a lifetime contribution to art. He has also been awarded The Medal with Purple Ribbon (1998), The Order of the Rising Sun (2007), the Mainichi Art Award (2008), and he was designated as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Ministry of Education (2010). He has served as the director of the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (Kiyosato, Yamanashi) since its opening in 1995 and has been Vice President of the Japanese Photographers Association since 1981. He has taught at Tokyo's School of Photography since 1969, and at the College of Photography since 1975.
Hosoe’s work can be found in a number of notable public collections globally, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The British Museum, London, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.